By now hopefully all our friends and family have gotten the news that our second little boy arrived yesterday at 10:36 am. We named him Sawyer Emmerich Birkhead. We both just liked the name Sawyer and of course Emmerich is a family name from my mom's side. Sawyer weighed 9 lbs 13 oz and is 21 inches long. Nice big guy.
The real purpose of this post is to thank all those involved and to brag about Chelsea. After having to have a Ceasarian for Michael she was determined to try for a natural childbirth this next go around. Let me just say that it was an amazing experience and I am so impressed with Chelsea, and the human body (thank you hypothalmus for endorphins, and collagen fibers for their ability to stretch!). Trust me when the delivering doctor says "Whoa...that's a big baby!" you know she did some work.
GO CHELS!!
The first difficulty was finding a natural childbirth class in our area. Fortunately Chelsea heard about a Bradley instructor in Auburn. I must say I was nervous about taking a natural childbirth class, but the Bradley classes we took really were a big help (http://www.bradleybirth.com/). So our first big "Thank You" goes out to Linda Kerr our Bradley instructor.
The next goes to our friend Sean Graham who drove us to the hospital at 4am and then helped get little Michael to daycare the next morning so Chelsea's parents could be at the hospital with us.
Which leads to Mike and Fran. Though we had not planned to have any family in the room with us during delivery, Mike and Fran came to see us and as things progressed they got more and more involved with the actual delivery. Fran was great and got right into the thick of things once the pushing started. I am so glad that they were able so share the experience with their daughter. It truly was a beautiful moment.Which then leads us to Cynthia Clearman. She was our nurse through the delivery, and I am not sure it would have been such a great experience without her. Not all hospitals are too open to having an unmedicated birth much less a "higher risk" birth like a VBAC. She was so supportive and reassuring through the whole process. Chelsea was not dilated fully by the time she wanted to start pushing and Cynthia calmly got in there and talked us through it. Had she not stepped up at that point I am convinced it would not have gone as smoothly as it did. Of course we have continued to get great care and support from all the doctors, nurses and staff here at EAMC.
Finally to all our family and friends a big "Thank You" for all your well wishes and support!!
Mom and Baby are now resting well and we are all really excited about getting home and being a family. We just can't wait to tell Michael he is a big brother!
We will keep you posted on our latest adventures!
-R
